Botti sentenced to six years in prison

Michael P. Mayko, Connecticut Post

Michael P. Mayko, Staff Writer

Published 11:53 pm, Friday, September 17, 2010

Shelton developer James Botti leaves U.S. Federal Court in New Haven, Conn., after he was sentenced to six years in prison and given a $25,000 fine on Friday September 17, 2010 and was ordered to report to prison on Nov. 29. He must also seek mental health treatment. Botti, 47, of Maple Avenue, Shelton, was convicted on charges of conspiring to structure and structuring cash transactions in amounts under $10,000 to avoid having them reported to the IRS during his first trial last November. In April, he was convicted of mail fraud.
Photo: Mike Mayko

William F. Dow III, defense attorney for Shelton developer James Botti, addresses the press outside U.S. Federal Court in New Haven, Conn., on Friday September 17, 2010. Botti was sentenced to six years in prison and given a $25,000 fine.
Photo: Mike Mayko

Shelton developer James Botti’s uncle, Robert Zyskoski, talks to the press outside U.S. Federal Court in New Haven, Conn., after Botti was sentenced to six years in prison and given a $25,000 fine on Friday September 17, 2010.
Photo: Mike Mayko

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NEW HAVEN -- It was substantially less than the 19 years the prosecution sought and significantly more than the 18 months the defense recommended.

After weighing both requests, reviewing the evidence and considering sentences imposed in other Connecticut corruption cases, Senior U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. Friday settled on a six-year prison term for James Botti, the 47-year-old self-made multimillionaire who a jury believed bought approval for his Bridgeport Avenue development in Shelton.

Additionally, the judge ordered Botti, of Maple Avenue in Shelton, to pay a $25,000 fine, forfeit $120,500 to the federal government, begin serving his prison term on Nov. 29 and, upon release, spend three years being supervised by the U.S. Probation Department. During that supervision, Botti must undergo mental health treatment.

"Sending a message to contractors that they can't do business this way is important," Haight said. "Contractors and public officials must realize conduct like this is against the law and shameful."

The charges against Botti were part of a larger investigation that appeared to focus in part on Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, who has said repeatedly that he is innocent and the target of overzealous prosecutors. There have been no charges against Lauretti in the seven-year investigation, and Botti apparently has offered no evidence against the 10-term mayor. A jury acquitted Botti on charges of conspiring with and bribing Lauretti.

Prosecutors accused Botti of parlaying an $80,000 investment in Shelton officials into a $5 million profit on the 828 Bridgeport Ave. development that now includes a hotel, a TD Bank branch, and both a Chili's and Longhorn's restaurant.

Prosecutors further accused Botti of playing games with his finances, pointing out that his more recent claim of $9.7 million in assets represents a steep drop from the $25.5 million claimed on documents filed April 7, 2006.

But Robert Zyskoski, Botti's uncle, said his nephew "is broke." Zyskoski told Haight he loaned Botti the $120,500 to pay the forfeiture and has liens on his nephew's assets, including the recently built 7,500-square-foot home that sits between two carriage houses on five acres of Maple Road land.

Botti, a divorced father of three young boys, offered no apology Friday. Instead, he asked Haight to consider the boys in fashioning a sentence.

That piqued Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Schechter. "There was no remorse. He did not acknowledge his criminal conduct; he was not upset by the shame he brought to the town he lives in," Schechter told the judge.

Furthermore, the prosecutor said, Botti "turned his father into a convicted felon. We think that speaks volumes."

The reference was to the conviction of Peter Botti, the defendant's elderly and infirm 82-year-old father. He pleaded guilty to structuring cash transactions at his son's behest in amounts under $10,000 to avoid having them reported to the IRS. His sentencing is set for Nov. 16.

This also troubled Haight.

"Much has been said about the care and love Mr. (James) Botti extends to his three sons. It's a pity that such care and love did not extend to his father," Haight said. "Toward the end of what appears to be an honorable and decent life, Peter Botti finds himself convicted of a felony."

The usually talkative Botti offered only a terse "no comment" while leaving the federal courthouse with family and friends.

"He's overwhelmed by the magnitude of this sentence," explained William F. Dow III, Botti's lawyer. "We're gratified the judge recognized the guidelines' sentence was preposterous. It's unfortunate that Jimmy Botti became the whipping boy for the government's claim against Shelton. Hopefully that's over -- Mayor Lauretti can go on with his life. The people of Shelton can go on with their lives."

Still Thomas Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said the investigation is continuing.

Botti was convicted on three charges in two separate trials.

Last November, a jury found him guilty of conspiring to and structuring cash transactions in amounts lower than $10,000. That same jury acquitted him on two charges of lying to an IRS agent.

Then in April, a jury found him guilty of mail fraud by depriving Shelton's citizens of honest government. They found he exerted pressure and provided gifts to Planning and Zoning Commission members in obtaining approval of his Bridgeport Avenue development.

The sentence is the first of three Haight will impose over the next two months on the only individuals convicted in a now seven-year old investigation of Shelton corruption.

Next up on Oct. 26 is Elliot Wilson, the city's building official, who received a sweetheart deal on a truck as well as building materials from Botti. That's followed by Botti's father, whose medical issues and age likely spell no prison time.